Director: David Ayer
Writer: David Ayer
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick
More than anything else, this film makes me want to visit
South Central California so much less. I am unaware of how factual the events presented in this film actually are but the amount of gun crime and
Satanists in the film is enough to repel me indefinitely.
End of Watch tells the story of the circumstantially heroic police officers one of which is filming their patrols for his filmmaking class. Shots are fired, lives are lived and poops hit their respective fans.
The film adopts a style similar to Cloverfield in that all the characters are aware that the camera is there but also are operating it themselves. It doesn’t go as far as Cloverfield as to have the story seen from only one perspective but this setup gives a lot of the shots context as to why they look so rough and unconventional. In order to properly compliment this style, it is important that the actors give realistic and human performances. Luckily for everyone who has seen this film, the actors more than deliver on this front. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña submit a living and believable relationship. There are many short scenes of the two characters talking in their patrol car during downtime. These moments are easily the most enjoyable and interesting in the film. They show how the relationship between the characters develops over time and even bring the themes of the film to the fore (these themes may have been a little heavy-handedly delivered though). Without a doubt, the two lead actors supply some of the most human and believable performances seen in decades making the twist and turns of the story impact you so much more.
While the performances are very grounded, some of the plot points seemed to me rather contrived. There is an early scene in which Peña picks a fight with a random guy in his own home. It serves no purpose to the story at the time but later on, the random guy comes back into the story with some information. The first scene was made entirely so the character could tell the police officers something later. There are other scenes that are clearly only there for foreshadowing, which is fine but they were fundamentally unnecessary to the story.
Linked to this and the Cloverfield comparisons, the camerawork can often be disorienting. This is mostly used to good effect, specifically during the climax, but sometimes it simply looks ugly and does not suit the tone of the scene. In the same vein as the camerawork, there is one scene containing a fire in which the fire was obviously just a flickering orange light shining from off camera. This stuff was very effective in taking me out of the film.
The main story of the film is incredibly compelling. There are moments in the film where the characters seem undoubtedly expendable. At the end, you really want the characters to succeed despite their difficult situation. The climax itself is an undeniably incredible moment. It is paced excellently and there is genuine fear for the characters. It takes the entire length of the film turning these fictional characters into actual humans that you care about and then they are dropped into a perilous position. It’s a textbook structure but it is executed to perfection.
End of Watch receives an: 8/10
End of Watch tells the story of the circumstantially heroic police officers one of which is filming their patrols for his filmmaking class. Shots are fired, lives are lived and poops hit their respective fans.
The film adopts a style similar to Cloverfield in that all the characters are aware that the camera is there but also are operating it themselves. It doesn’t go as far as Cloverfield as to have the story seen from only one perspective but this setup gives a lot of the shots context as to why they look so rough and unconventional. In order to properly compliment this style, it is important that the actors give realistic and human performances. Luckily for everyone who has seen this film, the actors more than deliver on this front. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña submit a living and believable relationship. There are many short scenes of the two characters talking in their patrol car during downtime. These moments are easily the most enjoyable and interesting in the film. They show how the relationship between the characters develops over time and even bring the themes of the film to the fore (these themes may have been a little heavy-handedly delivered though). Without a doubt, the two lead actors supply some of the most human and believable performances seen in decades making the twist and turns of the story impact you so much more.
While the performances are very grounded, some of the plot points seemed to me rather contrived. There is an early scene in which Peña picks a fight with a random guy in his own home. It serves no purpose to the story at the time but later on, the random guy comes back into the story with some information. The first scene was made entirely so the character could tell the police officers something later. There are other scenes that are clearly only there for foreshadowing, which is fine but they were fundamentally unnecessary to the story.
Linked to this and the Cloverfield comparisons, the camerawork can often be disorienting. This is mostly used to good effect, specifically during the climax, but sometimes it simply looks ugly and does not suit the tone of the scene. In the same vein as the camerawork, there is one scene containing a fire in which the fire was obviously just a flickering orange light shining from off camera. This stuff was very effective in taking me out of the film.
The main story of the film is incredibly compelling. There are moments in the film where the characters seem undoubtedly expendable. At the end, you really want the characters to succeed despite their difficult situation. The climax itself is an undeniably incredible moment. It is paced excellently and there is genuine fear for the characters. It takes the entire length of the film turning these fictional characters into actual humans that you care about and then they are dropped into a perilous position. It’s a textbook structure but it is executed to perfection.
End of Watch receives an: 8/10
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